It was requested by someone very dear to me (cough "Xinxin" cough) that I restart my blog.  So here it is, back and better (maybe) than ever.  Hopefully someone somewhere will follow this stream of unconsciousness.

I have been reading a biography of James Monroe for the last bit and thinking how much history repeats itself.  By the way, Monroe was not Marilyn's brother, as someone said (cough "Xinxin" cough).  He was the 5th president of the United States.  Maybe one of the least known, except that lots of people might think he was related to Marilyn.  No, instead he was the last of the Virginia Quartet: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe.  Now there was a brain trust.  Where are these guys now that we really need them.  Dead, of course. But their legacy, both good and bad, is still with us.  First, the bad parts everyone wants to blame them for, namely slavery.  What most people don't know, or wish not to know, is that slavery was quite common in the northern states.  Our friend Ben Franklin was said to own three slaves, and there is archaeological evidence right in downtown Philadelphia that many of our Founding Fathers brought their slaves with them even while writing "All Men are Created Equal."  But that's another story for another day.  The fact is that our republic was born on two opposite sides of a political coin.  On one side was the agricultural south, dependent on trade with Europe.  On the other side was the manufacturing north, much more self dependent than their cousins to the south.  Thus, you had Jefferson and Madison thinking of a nation of states with their own set of laws and relatively free of a strong central government.  On the other side, essentially controlled by Alexander Hamilton (if you don't know who he is take a look at your $10 bill), were the Federals who wished for a strong central government ruled over by a monarch-like president.  The Federal(ists) linger to this day, and in fact our government has it's stamp on every facet of our lives.  The Federalists of the late 1700s to about 1820 faded from the scene, but their concept/view of a domineering government was reborn when the Civil War erupted.  The Southern states demanded their rights as originally conceived in the Constitution.  Lincoln and the north did not see it that way, and our nation and the federal government was changed forever.  The intent of the Founders, particularly Jefferson and Madison, was a federal government with only those powers specified in the Constitution.  If it was not written in the Constitution then the states had that power.  But the Federalists saw it differently, thus the federal government obtained implied powers.  As soon as the Constitution was dry the Founders found ways to circumvent the stated powers, and again it continues to this day.  As an example just think about what happens when you go to the airport.  The 4th Amendment says, to paraphrase, no unreasonable search and seizure.  The intent was that you are innocent until there is proven guilt.  But when you enter the airport, in the name of safety, EVERYONE IS GUILTY AND SURRENDERS THEIR 4TH AMENDMENT RIGHTS.  As Franklin said, and he was paraphrasing someone else whose name escapes me, "A nation that surrenders it's rights in the name of safety deserves neither."  But we all roll over in the name of safety.  So, by the time Monroe became president in 1817 the Constitution was just a piece of paper that was ignored according to which way the wind was blowing.  Thus, when General Andrew Jackson felt like invading a foreign nation for reasons of national security (did they have weapons of mass destruction?), mostly on a whim, he did so without any ramification.  Oh, in case you don't know, the foreign nation he invaded was Spain.  Yes, it's true.  The Spanish territory he invaded and pretty much stole was what we now call...ready for this...Florida.  Yep, Florida.  Was he recalled or punished for this provocative action?  No.  Somehow he was deemed a hero and the federal government used the implied powers as a shield.  Hmm.  So does history repeat itself?  In the words of Sarah Palin "You betcha!"

Happy Birthday Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, born 266 years ago today, is different things to different people. I suppose his everlasting legacy will be, "All men are created equal." But of course we puzzle over his owning slaves. He opposed a strong central government, and had little or no say in the writing of the Constitution. Yet when he became president he stretched the powers of the executive branch many times, not the least of which was the Louisiana purchase, which doubled the size of the United States and used federal money to do so. He stated his discomfort with slavery, but unlike George Washington he did not free his slaves upon his death. He was an uncontrolled spender and left huge debts. He was a man of science and evidence, yet upon his wife's death he locked himself in his room for weeks on end and could not be consoled. He opposed organized religion and wrote of his disbelief in Jesus as the Savior, but proclaimed himself a Christian. So, in the end I view him as a great man... a man with the same failings as all of us.

And perhaps the model for all Americans.

Those without a soul

At last...Navy Seals rescued the American captain, killing three Somali pirates and restoring American pride! Not. How does this happen in the first place? What I think is wrong all over the globe is lack of respect. People have lost their soul, their greed has taken over from thought and reason. If you have no hope then I suppose the consequences of your actions have no meaning. Thus killing, robbing, and who knows what else does not bother you. There are what? 6 billion people on earth? That's a lot, probably more than the earth can realistically provide for in a meaningful way. Thus a large percentage are hungry, poor, and without hope. Now that doesn't mean they have all lost their soul, but when you have so many people and so many without hope, you are talking about so many without a soul, even though that may be too strong a way to put it. So you get 9/11, you get suicide bombers, you get pirates, you get American cities where there are at least one murder every day, and on and on. Is it any wonder that Palestinians throw rocks at Israeli soldiers, that Iraqis blow themselves and American soldiers to pieces, that North Korea and Iran want nukes, that a poor inner city kid kills someone for laughing at him?

Perhaps the economic slowdown will turn our thoughts back to where they should be, family, friends, and finding meaning within ourselves as to why we are all here.

Buchenwald

On April 11, 1945 American troops liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany. I cannot even begin to imagine what both the liberated and liberators must have thought that day.

Humiliating

It's sometimes really hard to believe how far down the scale America's reputation has fallen. Here's an American held hostage by four Somali pirates and they are very much laughing at us. It's humiliating. The world once looked up to us, but those days are long gone, and nothing has really changed since Mr. Obama was sworn in. Maybe in time it will, but Washington seems to be doing things as usual...which is nothing.

We MUST have educated and healthy chidren

I returned home yesterday after an 11 hour drive from Slidell, Louisiana to Sebastian, Florida. During our stay in Louisiana we got to see some of the destruction caused by Katrina. Now interestingly enough, the French Quarter in New Orleans, at least the major streets that we saw, were in excellent condition and well worth the visit. But outside the tourist areas is a different picture. There are still entire areas that are nowhere near being restored. I can't imagine where all of those people are living now. But that is not my point. My point is: Why are we still sending money to countries that despise us, who hate America, and would like to see our way of life ended. There was a time when this sort of thing made at least a little sense. But it makes no sense to me when so much of our own country, and our own people, need help. President Obama promised change. Sorry dude, but I see the same old Washington throwing good money at bad. Why not help Americans? Why not say "Screw you guys who ruined GM," that's capitalism. You go up, and sometimes you go down. But the root of our country is the people. If people are not happy and healthy and have a decent job and food on the table then what are we?

Just last week I learned that our local public schools will be cutting back, way back. Lost jobs. Good teachers out of work. Can anyone justify giving billions of dollars to the Defense Department, almost by a ten to one over education? How many weapons do we need? We already spend more on defense than the rest of the world COMBINED! This has to stop.

The bottom line is that if we do not have educated and healthy children then we are a third world country. It is time to speak up. Write to your Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen and tell them, "I'm fed up and I'm not going to take it any more." I have written to Senators Nelson and Martinez and Congressmen Posey here in Florida dn to a man they do respond. How about you do the same wherever you live.

715

Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run on April 8, 1974. To many folks this was sacrilegious, a black man passing Babe Ruth. Luckily today we seem to be past this, but now we get the Barry Bonds issue. Baseball just isn't the same anymore.

Also, one year later Frank Robinson became baseball's first black manager.

I suppose if we were all color blind none of this would matter.